A CAD system for team-based design provides an undo function and a redo function for execution by each designer during team-based design. A database server comprises a component DB and history DB provided for sharing in the same team, and a history DB manager for collecting history information of operator-performed operations and recording into the history DB. The history information includes the time an operation was performed, the element that is the object of the operation, the type of operation, the designer who performed the operation, and a validity flag of the history information. When a designer executes the undo function in the operator reference mode, the history information of the operations performed by the designer is searched, only the last operation performed by the designer is canceled, and the operations by the other designers in the same team are not canceled. Furthermore, when a designer executes the redo function, an operation that was canceled by the designer executing the last undo function is redone and the operations by the other designers in the same team are not redone.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A CAD system for team-based design comprising: means for sequentially recording contents of operations performed by the designers as history information into common history information storing means in design tasks performed by a plurality of designers in teams, and providing an undo function to cancel the last operation according to the order recorded in said history information storing means in the history information; history information collecting means for recording to said history information storing means, each time the designer performs an operation, history information, which includes information on the time the operation was performed, elements included in the design for which the operation was performed, the type of the operation, and information of the designer who performed the operation, with information representing validity or invalidity of the operation that was set to valid; and undo function control processing means for canceling the operation that is the object when the undo function is executed and for changing to invalid the information representing validity or invalidity of the operation corresponding to history information of the operation that has been recorded in said history information storing means; said undo function control processing means cancels the last operation that the operator performed when the operator executes the undo function.
2. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 1 wherein. said undo function control processing means cancels, in accordance with mode selection by the designer when the designer executes the undo function, either the last operation performed by the designer or the last operation according to the time of operation.
3. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 2 wherein: said undo function control processing means provides, as the undo function, a selection between a designer reference mode for execution of the undo function by designer and a time base reference mode for execution of the undo function according to the time of operation.
4. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 3 wherein: said undo function control processing means performs, when switching from the designer reference mode to the time base reference mode, automatic adjustment so that the history information recorded in said history information storing means as invalid operation is consecutive.
5. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 1 comprising; redo function control processing means for redoing an operation that was canceled by execution of the last undo function when a redo function is executed and for changing to valid the information representing validity or invalidity of the operation corresponding to history information of the operation that has been recorded into said history information storing means; wherein the operation that was canceled by a designer executing the last undo function is redone by searching said history information storing means when the designer executes the undo function.
6. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 5 wherein: said redo function control processing means restores, according to the mode selection by a designer when the designer executes the redo function, either the operation that was canceled by execution of the undo function by the designer or the operation that was canceled by execution of the last undo function according to the time the undo function was executed.
7. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 6 wherein: said redo function control processing means provides, as the redo function, a selection between a designer reference mode for execution of the redo function by designer and a time base reference mode for execution of the redo function according to time of operation.
8. The CAD system for team-based design according to claim 1 wherein: said history information collecting means manages the history information regarding a single operation by grouping according to time base reference, element, and designer.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
March 1, 1999
April 23, 2002
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.